Joint Fundraising Committees

The presidential candidates and their respective political
parties have formed a number of so-called joint fundraising committees in
the 2008 election to collectively raise money. Donors write one large check,
usually so they can attend an event headlined by the candidate, and the money
then gets divided according to pre-determined portions and contribution limits.
In a frequent scenario, the contributor makes a five-figure donation. The
candidate takes a share--often the maximum allowed per individual donor,
the national party takes a cut and the remainder is
split among state parties. Donors to these joint fundraising committees, or
JFCs, are among the biggest fish in political fundraising.

Since John McCain is receiving public financing for the general election,
he can't collect any of this money anymore for his campaign. But he can appear
at the events where the parties continue to raise money used to support his campaign.
Barack Obama is relying on private funds and can continue to take a portion of what's
collected by Democratic JFCs.

NOTE: All the numbers on this page are for the 2008 election cycle and based on
Federal Election Commission data released electronically on Wednesday, January 06, 2010.

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